Neighbours
by B.G.I
Summary: Stepping out into the chilly evening she took a huge lung full of the sweet springtime air. It smelled like salt from the bay with a mixture of cherry blossoms. Leaning against the railings she closed her eyes to take in everything around her only with her nose and ears. Set around the season finale. Kate & Ben
1. Chapter 1

**Wow, what a great season finale. Too bad, that we have to wait really long for the next season. But at least the writers left us with a finale full of good scenes to write fanfiction for :) So everybody, get your muse into action and start writing fanfics!**

**Disclaimer: Of course I own nothing!**

Three months. Three long months since her world had been turned upside down and she still couldn't help but wonder if it was right side up yet again.

Looking back at those months she wasn't sure why her head hadn't exploded yet. No normal person could stand so much turmoil without turning insane in the process. She thought the break-up would be the end of her, but she hadn't counted in the trouble the divorce would bring with it.

Divorcing Justin should have been a straight shot, it should have been easy compared to the break-up itself. But since her love for Justin wouldn't diminish, the whole signing the divorce papers was taking a toll on both of them.

And then there was Lauren, who was barely older than her and had kicked her out of the firm recently. After she had been fired Kate refused to leave her boat for a few days. If it wasn't for Leo she might have sailed away with the damn thing, but she at least was over being fired and had decided to get back into the firm, since she owned half of it anyway.

Ohh, and speaking of her boat. It got blown up right after she decided to get back to work. Even though she hated to admit it, it was her fault. Out of stubbornness she'd refused to fix the propane leak that threatened her with it's presence for weeks and now that it was gone, she was mourning it's loss and with it the loss of the only thing her father left her that wasn't under Lauren's control.

Now homeless, she slept on the couch in her office for a few days, but that wasn't an arrangement to last forever. Of course Justin had offered her to stay at his place, but with his confession of cheating on her mere hours ago she sure as hell wasn't going to say yes to him.

Leo offered her his couch, too, but his flat was so small and she already took it for granted that he drove her around whenever she needed a lift, so staying at his place was out of question, too. There was always the option of staying at a hotel, but alone in an anonymous place like a hotel she might be tempted to knot a noose out of the bed sheet, just to get out of her misery.

So she slept in the office for three nights until a nagging backache threatened her to find a new sleeping arrangement. And as unexpected as it probably was for both of them, the offer to stay at her place for a week or so came from Lauren. After a few moments of consideration she gave in to her back begging her to take the offer and concluded that it wouldn't hurt to stay at Lauren's for a few nights. She could, after all, get the hell out of there whenever she wanted.

A few days turned into a few weeks and finally into three months though. Her daddy would probably be proud of her. Even though she still resented Lauren a bit for marrying her father, the last few months brought them nearer together. She even considered Lauren to be kind of a friend to her. An awkward kind of friend indeed, but a friend nonetheless.

And as though all of those things weren't enough for one person to bear, there was also Ben Grogan.

Ben Grogan was everything she hated about men and society, but in spite of everything she was falling in love with him, and it scared the living daylight out of her.

Speaking of fate being a fickle bitch. When he first approached her at her favourite bar, said fickle bitch threw him at her right at the next possible opportunity, her first mediation back at work. And dear God was he an annoying SOB, self-centered and money-hungry and overall extremely full of himself.

He bought himself into the firm, which saved them from going under, but that also meant he was now part of the firm and was going to move into the office next to her.

Long story short, he managed to grow on all of them. His general view of the world stayed the same and he still wouldn't pass an opportunity to make a whole lot of money, but he also wouldn't refuse any request from her to help her out with a case. Most of the time that meant he had to care about either the person involved, or about her, and though she guessed that most of the time he did it for her, he also showed general signs of caring for others, which intrigued her.

He seemed to get along with Lauren, too, always pitching a few ideas to her and saving the firm in general made Lauren respect him.

Leo and Ben on the other hand have a kind of relationship she can't really define. They seem to have a silent agreement to like each other, though they mostly tease the hell out of the other. She was sure though, that they sometimes communicate without words and that Leo understands Ben on a whole different level than she does.

So with all this going on in her life, how on earth could a person stay sane and always make the right decisions along the way? That's what Kate Reed asked herself when she was lying next to Justin who was still asleep, in his bed, his arm around her waist, awake at 6.45 in the morning, which was clearly not a time she'd normally be awake yet.

The problem with lying in Justin's arms was that Justin was not the person on her mind at the moment. He did come to mind at times, but always in comparison to Ben. She just couldn't shake the feeling of Ben's lips on hers when he kissed her at the elevator or the shudder that ran down her spine when Ben pulled her into the hot tub in Tahoe, standing only inches from her, even though the water was really warm. Especially the images of Ben's hurt expressions on the plane back to San Francisco and every time she was with Justin were haunting her in her dreams and even now, when she was awake this early.

And then there was Justin, who was the love of her life, who was so sure they could start fresh and new and live happily ever after. Who was so excited when he told her they could make it, that they just both must have the guts to decide to win this one. Who asked her last night to move in with her again…

She hesitated at first, but said yes when he proposed they didn't have to live in his apartment necessarily, but could find themselves a new place, which was another of those thoughts that haunted her this morning. Was it the right decision? Would they work out again? Was Justin the one she wanted to share her life with?

She sighed silently and moved herself slowly out of bed in order not to wake Justin and went into the shower, not knowing, that on the other end of town Ben was also lying awake in his bed, thinking desperately of Kate, torn between trying his best to win her over again and forgetting about her altogether.

* * *

The day itself started with a mediation that indicated that DA Davidson as well as Robin Archer were both playing dirty for years. Justin and Kate started looking for a place, though the first few apartments they visited were to cold and sterile for her taste. She wanted French doors and some extravagant features, while Justin was happy with about every place they visited.

When Ben found out about her and Justin looking for a new place he offered to ask a guy he knew who owns a few apartment buildings, but she didn't want to accept the offer, since this would make the whole situation even more awkward.

Later that day Justin called her that he found another place to live in, but if they wanted to look at it, they had to move quickly. So she grabbed a cab and was at his office in about 15 minutes. Justin drove them to the place and after the landlord gave them the keys to the flat they took the elevator to the 4th floor. When Justin opened the door and they entered the open living space Kate was amazed. The room still had to be refurbished a bit, but the open fireplace and the cute doors and windows were right up her alley. Not to speak of the old-school furniture and the awesome terrace with a wonderful view over the city and the bay.

Justin was not as happy as she was about the place and when she asked him how he got notice of the flat being available, he answered that Leo called him and that Ben had arranged for them to have a look at the place.

Shocked at so many levels, she somehow felt the urge to leave immediately, not without noticing a coffee cup from her and Ben's favourite coffee dealer standing on a shelf nearby.

So even after telling Ben not to, he had taken some time to look at places for her and Justin. What the hell was he trying for with his behaviour? Helping Justin, that was just not his thing. Had he given up on her? But then again, how did he know that this place was exactly what she was looking for? Why was it Ben who noticed the small things about her and not Justin?

While Justin drove her back to her office there was a pregnant silence in which Kate's brain was running in circles and which was only broken by Justin when he stopped the car in front of Reed&Reed, giving her a goodbye kiss and asking her to meet him at his office when she was done for the day.

Later, back at Justin's office, he asked her if it was OK to blindfold her, since he had a surprise for her. She consented to it and he steered her to his car, drove them somewhere and guided her up a flight of stairs. She smelled something familiar but couldn't put a finger on it. When she heard a key unlocking a door she got excited, since she thought that Justin had found the perfect apartment for them, but when he removed the blindfold the was stunned. The surprise was his old place, which sucked majorly as a surprise.

He explained to her how she could put her own touch to the place and make it more Kate Reed, but she only half listened. The only thing she could think about was how Justin didn't get at all what she was longing for, while Ben gave her the apartment of her dreams in a blink of an eye.

Though she can't really remember all the details anymore, they got into a fight about what she wanted out of life, out of him, until Justin told her if she left now it would finally be the end between the two of them. And she left. Telling him she loved him, while thinking it was true, just not in the way she used to.

She cried herself to sleep that night.

Waking up the next morning, late as always, she finally made up her mind. It was time to get a fresh start and the fresh start couldn't happen in Lauren's house. So why not buy an apartment then?

She called Leo, who gave her the number of the beautiful place she visited the day before with Justin and bought it without thinking twice about it. She then packed her stuff and took a cab to the office, where she put everything else she needed from the office into yet another box. Before she closed the box though, she put the stone heart she took with her from Lake Tahoe on top. Who knows, it'll probably bring her luck.

Fortunately Leo offered to drop her off at her new place, but knew her good enough not to come up with her. He always knew when she needed some time to herself.

When she opened the apartment, _her_ apartment, she fell in love with the place all over again.

She had no desire to unpack her boxes just yet, so she just got out the old record player and a bottle of wine with one of her whine glasses. She opened the bottle with her teeth, spitting the cork into the next corner, nobody would mind anyway, and poured herself a rather full glass of the red liquid.

Since the weather was good she decided to further inspect her terrace and the view and if she was lucky, she could probably observe one of the nice sunsets over the bay.

Stepping out into the chilly outside she took a huge lung full of the sweet springtime air. It smelled like salt from the bay with a mixture of cherry blossoms. Leaning against the railings she closed her eyes to take in everything around her only with her nose and ears.

That's when somebody next to her started speaking up.

"Hey…"

She couldn't believe her ears. There she was, standing on her new balcony and the next door neighbour sounded just like Ben. Her mind must be playing tricks on her, though she really didn't have that much wine yet. Slowly turning her head to her left she saw him standing there, hands on the balcony-railings, smiling one of his heart-melting smiles.

"… neighbour." he said, his grin nearly reaching his ears.

Neighbour? What the hell had she gotten herself into? Not knowing what to say, her mind racing, she turned on the spot and ran inside again.

* * *

**So what do you think? I wrote most of it on the train this afternoon and I'm not sure if it's not a bit too short in some places. I feel like I started wide and came to a quick end... **

**Though I only wrote one-shots as of yet, this won't be one of the. I hope I can update soon, but since I'll have a major exam coming on the 25th it'll probably take until then. **

**Constructive reviews would be highly appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, thanks for all those reviews, I really appreciated them. And special thanks for Devine Lustre ;) I'm still waiting for new chapter on your story btw!**  
**It took me some time, but I finally managed to finish the second chapter. The outlines were in my head for days, but there was a lot going on. Hope you'll like it! Have fun.**

Chapter Two

Half walking, half running, she stepped off the balcony, slamming the glass door in the process, her glass of wine firmly clutched in her fist.

Entering her bathroom she placed the glass onto the rim of her luxurious tub and slumped down onto the cold soothing tiles. Her back against the door she wrapped her arms around her legs and brought her forehead to her knees.

"This can't be happening", she thought, "I didn't just buy an apartment right next to Ben. This is all a bad dream, my mind is playing tricks on me."

She pinched herself hard in the upper left arm, but when the pain spread through her she stopped, knowing that she wasn't going to wake up from this bad dream if she wasn't sleeping. She lifted her head off her knees, fixing her gaze on the shimmering red liquid on her tub, her mind racing.

After a few seconds that seemed more like an eternity, the unfamiliar ringing of her doorbell shook her out of her reverie. She didn't move a muscle though. She knew perfectly well, that it was Ben standing outside her door and she was definitely not in the mood to see him; that much should have been clear to him.

Mere 20 feet away Ben was standing outside her apartment door. He didn't hear anybody stirring inside, so he listened intently for a moment and finally knocked firmly on the door again. Nothing happened though.

"Katie, I know you are in there" he said, but there was still no answer.

"You know, you can pretend not to hear me all you want, but I know you do. As you just realized, I live here too, which means I know how thin those walls are."

He hoped to God she did hear him. Those walls were indeed not entirely soundproof, but for all he knew she was somewhere in there, fingers in her ears, humming 'The Wheels on the Bus' or whatever else her beautiful mind came up with, just to avoid hearing what he had to say.

The mental image of Kate's frowning face, fingers stuck to her ears, made him smile like a fool until he realized he was smiling at her closed door.

So since she wasn't opening the door he had no other choice as to keep talking to her, hoping against all odds that she was listening to what he had to say.

"Kate, listen…" he hesitated shortly, thinking about how to continue. "I realize that you're mad at me. And you might even have the right to be, but I would like to talk to you about it." He listened again if anybody was moving behind the door, but he still couldn't hear anything.

"You know, talking to the door does seem rather ridiculous and as I just told you, those walls are fairly thin, so old Mrs. Mason and her dog Max from across the hall are most likely already listening to every word I'm saying."

He paused again, listening for any movements, though this time he also tried to figure out if Mrs. Mason was indeed already listening in on him. He couldn't make out any noises from Kate's apartment but he was fairly certain that at least Max was standing behind the other door, breathing heavily.

"Kate please, just let me explain. Just open the door. You don't have to let me in if you don't want to, but I'd like to talk to you face to face."

He leaned his forehead resignedly against her door, not knowing what else to say. There was a lot he wanted to say to her, but he didn't want to do it through closed doors. He wanted her to see the truth behind his words in his eyes and it was not his intention to make a move on her tonight. He had known when he first forwarded the apartments address to Leo that Kate would be pissed about him being her neighbor if she indeed moved into the place. She hated it when people interfered with her life, but somebody had to be the one to push her in the right direction, and he was the only one who could do it. Sure, Leo was good at pushing, too, but if Ben wanted to be with her there was only so much that Leo was able to do. The heavy lifting had to be done by Ben himself.

Inside the apartment Kate was still sitting on the bathroom floor. She hadn't averted her eyes from the glass of wine, but she had listened to every word he said. Her resolve to stay put was crumbling though. She could hear the desperateness in Ben's voice and was sure he was feeling at least some remorse. And worst of it all she couldn't stop picturing his sad face with which he was surely standing outside her door.

He hadn't spoken for quite some time and she was already wondering if he had given up and went back to his four walls, when she heard him saying "Never mind".

A few seconds later she could hear his door closing and she let out a long breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding.

Since Ben was no longer standing behind the door she figured it was time to get off the bathroom floor again and to do something productive like drinking the rest of the wine and then going to bed early. She already planned on arriving late at the office so that she could avoid Ben as long as possible, but she was aware that she couldn't run from facing him forever. But for tonight she got rid of him and thus had still some time left to figure out what to do next. Probably she should call the guy who previously owned the flat and ask him if he has another apartment like this somewhere else in town.

But when she opened her bathroom door, her now empty wine glass in hand and her mind still thinking about what to tell the guy why she didn't want to live here anymore, she froze in shock again. No other man than Ben was standing before her, which meant he was standing right inside her living room.

Smiling carefully he said "Since I wasn't sure if you could hear me and since you didn't open your door either I decided to climb over the balcony. Hope you don't mind." And with that he turned, walked towards the counter on which she had left the wine bottle and asked looking back at her "Do you have a glass for me, too?"

**So this is it. Did you like it? Reviews are of course appreciated.  
I'm not exactly sure where this is headed yet, I guess I gotta sleep on it a night or two. Hopefully I'll have another chapter for you by the end of the week. I do have some more travelling by train to do those next few days and it seems like my muse is overly active on those train rides. So hope for the best ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I guess you guys are really really lucky coz the train was 20 minutes late which gave me more time to finish the third chapter. Hope you guys like it. I have some ideas for the next chapter, but I don't know when I'll be able to post it. Keep your fingers crossed that I find some time!**

"Do you have a glass for me, too?"

Ben was looking at her again, head cocked to one side, holding up the wine bottle questioningly. Kate on the other hand was still standing inside her bathroom door, speechless because of him being there. She knew his methods were rather bold at times, but climbing over their balconies to be able to talk to her was plain cocky. It was nice to see though, that he wouldn't give up on her that easily.

Not sure if she should be mad about the whole situation he had gotten her into or if she should be amused by the image of him climbing over the railings with his ridiculously expensive tailored suit she just pointed at one of the boxes she hadn't unpacked yet and watched him as he found another wine glass and poured himself a good measure of the red liquid.

"You want some more, too?" he asked, holding up the bottle again.

She nodded and when he walked towards her, bottle in one hand and glass in the other she took a few steps in his direction, too. They met in the middle, which, on second thought, was kinda ironic, and he poured the rest of the wine into her glass.

He walked the few steps back to the counter, left the empty bottle there and returned to her.

Raising his glass he said "To good neighborship?" She couldn't help but notice the questioning undertone in his voice and considered for a moment if she should clink glasses with him or not. There were a lot of reasons against it, but since Ben was in her living room now and surely wasn't going to leave again until she showed at least some signs of calming down and accepting their new living arrangements, she raised her glass, too. She didn't say a word though, but that didn't seem to bother Ben the slightest. He just smiled his trademark smile and took a large sip.

"See? Wasn't so hard, was it?" he exclaimed, looking around the room in the process. Since she wasn't talking he continued. "You haven't made lots of changes yet, huh? If you need a lift to Bed, Bath and Beyond these next few days though just give me a shout-out. I'm your man. If you ask nicely I might even get my tools out and assemble your furniture for you. Though another glass of wine might help the process along."

He glanced back at her but she was still standing silently in the middle of the room "Those wings are nice though." He now stood in front of the wing pictures Justin had given her as a housewarming gift. They were beautifully crafted with a great sense for dimension and details.

He finally could hear a rustling behind him. The mentioning of the wings seemed to have shaken Kate out of her reverie and he was gladly taking a side glance at her when she came up next to him.

"Justin gave those to me as a housewarming gift" she could feel Ben stiffen at her words "he wanted me to move in with him because we couldn't find an apartment which we both liked."

She wasn't looking at him but it didn't matter, since Ben didn't dare to look at her either. They both stared at the respective wings they were standing in front of. He was glad that she finally talked again, but the topic of Justin wasn't what he had hoped for. Yet he was willing to listen if talking about Justin was what she needed right now.

"I desperately wanted Justin and me to work again, that's why I was willing to find a new place with him, but those last few days I realized that he and I aren't meant to be together. Actually I did a lot of realizing." She now turned to face him, so he did the same, though there was still a decent space between them. A look into her eyes told him, that she felt a lot of different emotions at the moment. He could see the hurt in her eyes, but the glowing happiness they normally radiated was nowhere to be seen. There was something else though. Was it hope? He couldn't place it yet, but his curiosity was peaked.

"For one I realized that I still have feelings for Justin" she could see his expression falter, so she added rather hastily "but I also realized that those feelings do not include love anymore." His features softened again and for a moment they looked each other deeply in the eyes until Kate suddenly slouched to the floor, back to the wall, head in her hands.

Ben was surprised by her sudden movement and when she started talking again he sat down next to her and took one of her hands into both of his, drawing circles with one of his thumbs on the back of it, which seemed to calm her down a bit.

"Ohh Ben, I'm so sorry. You poured your heart out to me in Lake Tahoe and I just turned around and ran back to Justin. I do know how you feel, but I'm scared and so freaking confused. You make me feel special with everything you do and I just don't know how to deal with that. I do like you… a lot actually"

She smiled shyly at him and he squeezed her hand slightly. "But I need some time, Ben. I need to sort out my feelings and I don't want to rush into anything. Can you understand that?"

She fully faced him now and her left hand joined his caressing her right one. Looking into her eyes again he nodded slowly. When she smiled slightly he stood up slowly and tugged her back up with him.

Their hands still joined he said "I do understand. And I hope you're not too mad at me for being your new neighbor now." She squeezed his hands slightly and he took it as a good sign. "I will go back to my place now so that you can settle in. But before I leave I have to ask you: Will you go out with me this weekend?" Her hands stiffened under his touch "It doesn't have to be a date, Katie. We could just go out as friends, I want to get to know you better. It can be whatever you want."

She was silent for a moment, but then she nodded and said silently "Okay."

Ben smiled warm-heartedly at her, took her face in is hands and kissed her forehead. He was glad that Kate didn't object and with a last smile at her he turned and said "I'm taking the door this time if it's okay with you" Kate had to chuckle. "Ohh and just in case you're up early, I'm leaving for the office around eight thirty, so if you need a ride just come knocking on my door, okay? And remember, whatever one is dreaming on the first night in a new home will come true, so sweet dreams to you." And with that he smiled a last time at her and left through the front door.


End file.
